Officials are probing how a 51-year-old highway bridge came to collapse in the Italian port city of Genoa yesterday, killing at least 26 people and injuring 16 others as it sent dozens of vehicles tumbling into a heap of concrete and twisted steel.

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The proposed laws stirred controversy, after MP and former lawyer John Quigley claimed the bill would reverse the burden of proof and actually make it harder for officers to defend themselves because they would have to prove in court they believed they were driving reasonably.

Mrs Harvey said the tough new measures would add to existing legal protection and ensured police officers who followed the rules would not face prosecution.

Failing to stop when asked by police may now result in a mandatory fine of $5000 and a mandatory two-year licence disqualification, as well as up to two years' jail.

The new laws come after a spate of fatalities following police pursuits in WA this year.

Mother Sharon Ann D'Ercole died in April when a police vehicle ploughed into her car while chasing a stolen car in the Perth suburb of Dianella.

Last month, taxi driver Kuldeep Singh and his passenger Sean Barrett, a British scientist, both died after their vehicle was struck by a stolen car that had been pursued by police.